Computer Nerd Inside

This was already a fantastic conference and tonight was an exciting moment for Memphis City Schools and Educational Technology. Tonight we were recognized as the 2008 Rich Media Impact award recipient for Scholastic Achievement.

This award recognizes a school district or other organization serving the K-12 educational community that harnessed the power of rich media to improve communication, learning and outreach.

You can watch the entire program by clicking here. You can also watch our nomination video by clicking here.

I had the opportunity to visit the other finalist in our category, Mark Dashper from Te Manu Aute, University of Auckland, New Zealand. We both share a common interest in providing a powerful K-12 network using Mediasite. We plan to contact each other within the next several days to discuss creative ways that our two programs and countries can use Mediasite. Incidentally, he will be in Memphis this weekend. (Don’ forget to visit the Rendezvous.)

I am so fortunate to work with such a group of talented individuals. In fact, we are more of a family than colleagues. This is a proud moment for us, and I am excited to be able to report on a positive moment for our district. We ARE working hard for our children, and it brings a lot of encouragement to us be recognized in such a way.

I have attend both of the Unleash conferences, and this year was better than the last. Next year will definitely be hard to beat!!! Good luck Sonic Foundry, and thank you.

written by jeff

In my post FAWC! I touched on the issue of teachers not allowing students to use technology because of their own insecurities. I was reading an article in T.HE. Journal entitled “Hate the Player not the Game”where technology is being “attacked” due to a lack of understanding. It appears that the “nay-sayers” are doing a good job of trying to eliminate the opportunities instead of using good old teacher ingenuity to creatively embrace potential!

Take a look:  http://thejournal.com/articles/22169

written by jeff

Today, everyone is busy. I’ve often said that I would love to nominate myself for the first human cloning project. I’m ‘Da Dad of 5 kids, ages 2 - 9! I love goofing off with them and introducing them to new life experiences.

However, I get to go to work each day, and my dear Bride gets to spend the day taking them to Doctors appointments, play dates, shopping, paying bills, bank … you get the picture. The other day she informed me that my daughter’s preschool wants me to come read a story to her class. My wife calls and asks me for a date that I will be available. So over the phone I’m checking my Lotus Notes and she’s checking her calendar via blackberry. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could share ONE common calendar?” I would love to have one master calendar that we can access and receive alerts of events and daily changes. 

Google has had a calendar for a while, but I never really looked into it with much thought, until recently. I learned today that Google has now developed a way to synchronize your Google calendar with your Outlook calendar! This revolutionized our household. My wife and I each created a calendar in Google. We then shared our calendar with each other, and allowed each other to view and modify each others events. We can filter our out each other’s events, if we want to, and have the calendar email or text us of events and/or changes.

Being the nerd that I am I took it a step further. We downloaded the free Synch application for our cell phones! Now we can schedule events via phone and our Outlook, Lotus, phones and Google calendars are all up to date!

There’s a lot of potential for a busy classroom and a busy teacher. A powerful option to the Google calendar is the ability to embed the calendar in your website. So if you are a blogger or have your own class site, you can copy the embed HTML to your site and make your calendar available to everyone!

One Calendar to rule them all,
One Calendar to find them
One Calendar to bring them all
and in cyberspace bind them

written by jeff

AFAIK an ARE may B foreign 2U. BWTHDIK! YR kids R C&Ging @ U CUZ U R Clueless! it’s E123 2 YR Kids. EL. FWIW Id B HHIS! IOW Id learn 2 RBTL! ASAP! NUFF-B4N

If you can’t read the message above you should be concerned. I’m not trying to scare you but I’ve seen parents and teachers turn a blind eye to the unknown, and it is dangerous. Our children have developed a complex form of communication in an evironment is intemidating to many people. As a result, I’ve seen people go as far as not allowing their children access to the Internet because the parent or guardian doesn’t understand what it’s all about.

Let me introduce you to http://www.netsmartz411.org/ NetSmartz411 is parents’ and guardians’ premier, online resource for answering questions about Internet safety, computers, and the Web. It’s sponsored by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In it, you will find a wealth of information to help you learn more in a non-threatening environment.

The Internet is a great tool that can richly enhance a child’s learning experience. I’d hate for that opportunity to slip by because we are not keeping up with them. Check out this site, and if you can’t read the message above, you can find the answer there. tt4n

written by jeff

I hope that the information you find on my blog or the blogs’ of the other Ed Tech Teachers is helpful and interesting. Please take the time to let us know if you find a particular article interesting or helpful by adding a comment.  I call my comment section “Snorts” just to keep with my nerd theme (duh). We would love to hear form you!

written by jeff

Learn out Loud is a directory that features free (YES FREE) audio books, lectures, speeches, sermons, interviews, and many other great free (YES FREE) audio and video resources. Most audio titles you can download in digital formats such as MP3 and most video titles are available to stream online. Check them out at: www.learnoutloud.com

written by jeff

Several years ago, Beloit created  the”The Mindset List”.  http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/ In an effort  to identify the worldview of 18 year-olds  entering college in the fall, Beloit College created this list which attempts to identify “the experiences and event horizons of students as they commence higher education.”

written by jeff

 The portable memory sticks (thumb-drives, flash drives, the USB “thingies”, whatever) has taken it’s place on the average American’s key chain. Because of the increase in storage space one can pick up a thumb-drive for a very reasonable price.  And thanks to Open Source (or as I like to say Free Applications) this tool can now be a portable “mini computer”.  Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind. Learn more by going to: http://portableapps.com/

written by jeff

There is a computer nerd in each of us. Some of us are technology enthusiasts, and others claim to be “closet techies”. The fact of the matter is our children are all out technology enthusiasts.

The natural curiosity of children caters to their interest in technology. Technology bring them to places they could not normally go, see things they would normally not be able to see, hear things….you get the picture.

Have you ever thought that their survival is contingent upon how fast they adapt to new technology? 

I’ve heard time and time again teachers saying, ”I’m not into the technology thing. I’m not technologically inclined.” Would you accept a comment like that from your students about Math or Reading?  The “I’m not” mentality, in technology and education, is crippling children all over America.

It’s use of technology that’s finding cures for diseases like cancer. It’ the use of technology that’s keeping this country safe and free. It’s the use of technology that allows us to communicate with people all over the world. Our future depends on taking our children to the next level of technology. Whose going to do it if “you’re not”?

I’m not asking that teachers should be a Bill Gates with a teaching certificate. However, I am encouraging them to step out into the technology world, explore and allow their ” child like” curiosity to take them to places they could not normally go, see things they would normally not be able to see, hear things… you get the picture.

written by jeff